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Paper & Tea, Berlin

I love coming across shops that are on the same wavelength as our own. Some may see this as a conflict of interest, but I see it as supporting a certain thinking pattern and lifestyle that we admire. The more people that get involved and become aware of crafts and design in general, the greater amount of people we have thinking responsibly about objects and how things function in their life. Whether that be furniture, architecture, items such as ceramics or glass, it’s all linked in some way or another.

One such store that’s been working hard to carry their passion is Paper & Tea in Berlin, Germany. As you probably guessed from the name, the store mainly stocks tea but they also carry other things revolving around tea, which includes objects used in the Japanese tea ceremony. Paper & Tea was opened by tea enthusiast Jens de Gruyter, with his concept being to present and communicate tea that breaks the conventional over-the-counter shop model. This means you can browse freely and view their broad selection of teas, you can also ask the staff to explain and demonstrate each on their tea ceremony style tasting tables.

Although I’m chuffed to present some imagery of the store and other close-up photos of the tea making process, many thanks to Stil in Berlin and UBerlin for those, I really wanted to pull over some objects from their online shop. Unfortunately I couldn’t, so you’ll have to take my word for it and go across to flick through the different tea accessories, including tea pots, bowls and cups, all are very beautiful and match with each other nicely. Plus, they’re super functional and a minimum amount of branding which is something that I happen to be fond of. These everyday items always inspire me.

I’ve personally been a fan of tea for a long time and would say it’s also one of my many passions, it isn’t something new to me and I’ve explored it quite thoroughly over the years. Saying that, there’s always more knowledge to gain and Paper & Tea looks like the perfect place to gather information on the different teas and brewing processes. I personally like the charm and tradition behind tea, also the philosophy of Teaism and the art of the Japanese tea ceremony. Overall it promotes tranquility and an appreciation for the things around us, making us look at the world in a slightly different way. I think we can all learn something from the ideology, especially in our culture where everything is so rushed and fast. That’s not a lifestyle I personally enjoy.